<p>When Spc. Peter Sprenger recited the words of the Ranger Creed during Friday's graduation ceremony, brigade leaders figured no one more deserved the honor.</p><p>The credo, which ends with a pledge to "display the intestinal fortitude required to fight on" seems tailor-made for Sprenger _ who earned the right to be called a Ranger after losing an eye in Iraq.</p><p>"I think it's very appropriate," said Col. K.K. Chinn, the brigade's commander.</p><p>On Dec. 9, 2003, Sprenger was stationed in Talafar, Iraq with the Army's 101st Airborne Division when a suicide car bomber attempted to slam into his unit's headquarters.</p><p>The car was shot at and exploded. No soldiers were killed, but Sprenger was among about 60 casualties.</p><p>He suffered shrapnel wounds to his mouth, back, legs and shoulder and his right eye was "just mutilated."</p><p>"It kind of messed up my day," the 21-year-old says with a smile.</p><p>It also seemed sure to end his military career. Sprenger went through multiple surgeries and months of recovery _ receiving a Purple Heart from President Bush at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.</p><p>Instead, Sprenger, of Stockton, Calif., re-enlisted and returned to active duty in the fall of 2004. He convinced four levels of Army bureaucracy to let him go through the intensive Ranger training.</p><p>After his first few days in the hospital, Sprenger started to regain sight in his left eye. He can see better than normal out of it now, but he can see only light and colors out of his right eye, which he keeps covered with a black patch.</p><p>"I shoot with my left eye, anyway," he said with a laugh.</p><p>Since the brigade started keeping modern records 25 years ago, nobody without legal vision in both eyes has become a Ranger, Chinn said.</p><p>Even with two good eyes, soldiers find it to be among the U.S. military's toughest training. On average, 52 percent of the troops who take the 61-day course end up graduating.</p><p>"Sprenger is unbelievable," Chinn said. "He's a great example and inspiration to all soldiers and Rangers."</p><p>Sprenger said he got a lot of support from his father, John, and countless officers and fellow soldiers in the Army.</p><p>Depth perception was the only trouble his one-eyed sight gave him during Ranger training, he said, especially during the 20-foot-high catwalk.</p><p>Although he can't play pickup basketball and football anymore, he still enjoys racquetball and still legally drives.</p><p>Now, Sprenger is looking forward to rejoining his unit and deploying back to Iraq in September.</p><p>"I want to finish the job I started," he said.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x1d0be60)</p>
